Three-position relay



Jan. 3, 1928.

T. E. CLARK THREE-POSITION RELAY Filed May 2, 1925 INVENTOR ZTTORNEY Patented Jan. 3, 1928.

Ultl'iiifl -PATENT O'FFECE,

THOMAS E. GLARK, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO CONTINUOUS TRAIN CON- TROL CORPORATION, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF IJIICI-IIGAN.

THREE-POSITION RELAY.

Application filed May 2,

My invention relates to a rotatable threeposition relay for use in connection with receiving circuits adapted to pick up highfrequencycurrents, and especially the currents propagated in railway tracks orother conductors for the purpose of controlling the operation of railway trains, and its ob ject is to provide a device of this character which will operate in connection with circuits carrying currents of different wave lengths, and will select and close circuits between a current source and proper in strumentalities accordingto the wave length of the currents received by this relay.

This invention consists, in combination with a support, of two pairs of flat coils of wire mounted on the support, alternate coils being oppositely wound', a cylindrical rotor of metal such as aluminum which is preferably cup shaped and is mounted within the case and adapted to be affected by electromagnetic forces within the support as cur-' rent passes through the coils, and pairs of contacts adapted to be bridged by a conductor which moves with said rotor when the coils are energized, the direction of movement depending upon which pair of coils is energized.

It further consists of the details of construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing and particularly pointed out in the claims. V p

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section of this improved rotary relay. Figs. 2 and 3 are sections on the lines 22 and 33 ofFig. 1 respectively. g 7

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In my co-pending application Ser. No. 335,941, filed November 5, 1919, I have shown a cylindrical case or shell of insulating material, a pair of flat coils of wire mounted thereon diametrically opposite each other and extending 'circumferentially of the shell, a vane of aluminum pivoted within the shell, and a pair of contacts, one stationary and the other mounted on the vane which contacts engage when the vane is moved by reason of proper high-frequency current. or Hertzian waves passing through or over said coils.

In the present construction I have gone further andhave mounted two pairs of these coils on the shell, the coils being preferably evenly spaced, and have mounted one or 1925. Serial No. 27,589.

two cup-shaped rotors of sheet aluminum within the shell so that the lines of force passing from one coil across the shell to the opposite coil will so reactupo'n the rotor as to turn it. By winding the coils of one pair in the opposite direction from the other,

I obtain a relay whose rotor will turn in either direction according as one pair of coils or the other receives current.

Referring to the. drawing, a base 1 supports a cylindrical shell :2 of insulating material haying ends 3 and 4, the latter preferably provided with a glass window 5. A ring 6 is mounted in one end of the shell and is retained in position by the screw or bolt 7 and by the contact blocks 8, 9 and 10 on one side of the center and blocks 12, 13 and 14 at the other side, these blocks carrying the screws 15, 16 and 17, and 18, 19 and 20, respectively. A bar 22 is shown attached at its ends to this ring 6 and supports an adjustable bearing 23 for the shaft 24. The opposite end of the shaft is journaled in the bearing 25 adjustably mounted in the enu 3.

v'lwo cup-shaped rotors of metal, preferably aluminum, embody ends 27 and 28, and cylindrical bodies 29 and 30 respectively. Each has a hub 32 attached to the shaft 24. .Secured to this shaft in the plane of the contact blocks is a hub 33 of the hollow arms 34 lIIWlllCll the springs 35 and contact tips 36 are mounted, these tips being adapted to slide on the inner surface of the ring 6 and engage the contact blocks. The hub is insulated from the shaft by a sleeve 37 and a flexible conductor 38 con nects the hub 33, arms 34 and tips 35 to the screw 7, which, in turn, may connect to a current source by means of a wire 39.

v A collar 41 is secured to this shaft and carries two pins 42. Hubs 44 and 45' of the arms 46 and 47 respectively are loose on the shaft and these arms may carry weights 48. "Stop pins50 and 51 on one side and 52 and 53 on the other project from the end 3 and limit the upwardand downward movements of the arms 46 and 47 and therefore limit the movements of the shaft and rotors. The normal position of the shaft is shown in Fig. 3, with arms 46 and 47 resting on pins 51 and 53 respectively and holding the rotors central; If the rotors are stressed to turn the shaft 24 clockwise, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the pin 42 below the arm 46-will lift it until this arm contacts with the pin 50. If the rotors were stressed in the opposite direction, the arm 4=7 would be swung up until it engaged the pin-52,-the--a1-m46 in the meantime remaining stationary in contact with the pin 51.

Within the shell '2 is a sleeve' 60,also of insulating material, having a shallow circumferential groove in which are'mounted four fiat elongated coils 61 and 62 of fine insulated wire, each two opposite coilsconstituting a pair and being wound in opposite directions when viewed from the outside of the sleeve, while alternate coils are wound in opposite directions. The two coils of each pair are connected in series and'the ends of one pair of coils connect to the pair of screws 63 and 64 while those of the other pair connect to the pair of'screws 65 and 66. These screws also assist in holding the sleeve in place within the shell.

Conductors of high-frequency current connect to each pair and in these conductors are mounted proper tuning devices of any desired character so that only a current of predetermined wave length will pass to each pair of coils, all other currents being tuned out. As the reaction between one energized pair of coils will cause the rotors to turn in. one dlrectlon, and the reactlon between the other pair of coils will have the opposite effect, and the rotors will return to central position when'no-stress is exerted thereon because of the force of the arms 46 and 47. Itis evident that when the rotors are in centralpo's'ition, current will pass from the wire 39 to thescrews 16 and 19 and the instrumentalities connected thereto; that when the rotor is stressed until the arm 46 contacts with the pin 50, current will flowfrom the wire 39 to the screws 15 and 20; and that when this rotor is stressed in the opposite direction, current will flowto the screws 17 and 18. 1 V

The details of construction and the proportions of the parts may all be changed by those skilled in the 'art without departing from the spirit of my invention'as set forth in the' following claims.

I claim i '1. In a relay," the combination of a cylindrical support, four evenly spaced fiat coils mounted on the support, a rotor within the support co-axial with the coils and comprising a cylindrical body of sheet aluminum and a shaft therefor, circuit wiresand three pairs of contacts connected thereto and mounted in the support, a pair of connected arms mounted'onthe shaft and spring-held contacts carried thereby and adapted to engagelone or another pair'of said contacts as the coils are energized, and means to return the rotor to central position. H

2. In a relay, the comb'nat-ion of a cylinsupport c'o-axial with the coils and comprising a cylindrical body of sheet aluminum and a shaft-therefor, circuit wires'and' three pairs of contacts connected thereto and mounted in' the support, a pair of connected arms mounted on the shaft and spring held contacts carried thereby and adapted to en gage one or another pair of saidcontacts as the coils are energized, and means to return the rotor to central position comprising a pair of weights loosely mounted on the shaft and means secured to the shaft to pick up oneor the other of said weights as the rotor is turned in one way orthe other by the electro-magnetic forces proceeding from the said coils. r

3. In a relay, the combination of a cylindrical support, two pairs of fiat elongated coils of insulated wire mounted thereon and evenly spaced circumferentially, opposite coils'being connected in series and wound in opposite directions when viewed from the outside ofthe support, circuits for conducting high-frequency currents to the two pairs of coils, -a shaft rot'atably mounted in said support, means to return theshaft to central position and to limit the movement of the shaft in either 'direction therefrom, a rotor mounted on said shaft and comprising two endwise spaced sheet aluminum cylinders, three ,pairs' of stationary contacts 1 mounted in said supports, a pair of arms mountedon said shaft and contacts at the ends thereof and adapted to connect'one pair of "stationary contactswhen the shaftand rotor are in central position and one ofthe' other pairs of stationary contacts when theshaft and rotorare at the limit of either of theirmovements, circuits connected'tosaid contacts, and a flexible conductor connecting tosaid arms.

4. In a relay; the combination of a cylindrical support, four flat coils ofwire mounted thereon and'substantially evenly spaced, opposite coils being "operatively connected independently of the other two coils,'a sheet metal rotor mounted within the support and adapted to rotate in either direction as one or the'other pair ofcoilsrecejives current, and contacts: adapted to be brought into engagementas the rotor turns in either'direction. a

' '5. In a relay, the'combination of a cylindrical support of non-magnetic material,

four'flat coils of wiremounted thereon, a1

ternating coils being connected into pairs, a sheet -metal rotor of non-magnetic metal mounted within the support and adapted to be rotated in either directionas one or the other pair of'coils receives current, and. a pair of circuits controlled by said rotor.

' THOMASE. CLARK. 

